Android 17
Android 17 (Also known as Jinzōningen #17, Cyborg #17, and Artificial Human #17) is a fictional character from the Japanese manga Dragon Ball and anime Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT. He is a black-haired cyborg modified by Dr. Gero. He is referred to in the original Japanese as an artificial human (Jinzōningen), which is translated as 'cyborg'/'android'/'robot'; he is not a robot nor an Android, and it is implied in the manga (as well as explicitly stated within the character biographies in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi video game series) that he and his sister were originally runaway humans that were kidnapped by Dr. Gero and heavily fitted with cybernetics. As such, he is, in English, correctly a cyborg. Future Trunks also confirms this by using the word cyborg in the original version of the anime when describing to Goku about what the pair are that will ruin the future. Android 17 is a notable character in the Dragon Ball series due to his very back-and-forth moral standing. He starts out appearing to be a powerful villain, but is revealed to be little else besides a rebel without a cause. When he is wished back to life, he lives a life of peace on his own. However, he is brought back in GT as a super villain when evil doctors in Hell take control of his mind, and is killed for his heinous crimes. Yet even when the villains take control of his mind, he still maintains some of care in his heart, especially for his twin sister. This is in contrast to his alternate self from Future Trunks' future, where he is a sociopathic killer who cares for no one but himself and his sister. Android 17's strongest trait is most certainly his sense of self. He refuses to bow down to the will of his evil creator Dr. Gero (or later, Dr. Myu), and fights a futile battle with Imperfect Cell to assert his identity and his pride. He has an energy pistol, but rarely uses the weapon, as it is most likely ineffective against stronger fighters. He is seen with a holstered gun in Dragon Ball Z: Budōkai 3. His seiyū is Shigeru Nakahara. In the FUNimation dub, he is voiced by Chuck Huber. Androids Saga Android 17 and his twin sister Android 18 are awakened by their creator, Dr. Gero, when he is pressed into a corner by the Z Fighters, who he discovers to be much stronger than expected. It is revealed that this is not the first time Dr. Gero has attempted to utilize the twin cyborgs; his fear of them quickly becomes obvious and is fully realized when Android 17 impales then decapitates him. Abandoning Dr. Gero's plans for them, Android 17 and Android 18 awaken Android 16 and decide to find Goku and fight him just for fun. They are confronted by Vegeta, Future Trunks, Tien and Piccolo and defeat all four with extreme ease. However, the twins let them live, one of many examples that set them apart from their future timeline counterparts, especially since at the same time Future Trunks notes that they are much stronger than in his timeline. Imperfect Cell Saga Later, Android 17 fought Piccolo after he had fused with Kami, giving him extraordinary powers. They were roughly equal in power, except for the fact that Android 17 would never run out of energy and Piccolo could become drained of his. The match was interrupted by Dr. Gero's finest creation, the bio-android Cell, who was looking to absorb Android 17 and Android 18 to reach his perfect form. While Piccolo tried to aid in the battle against Imperfect Cell, he was quickly tossed aside, and Android 17 struggled in vain to defend himself from being absorbed. All seemed lost until Android 16 stepped in to fight Imperfect Cell. Android 16 was able to hold off Imperfect Cell for a time, repeatedly surprising it with intensely powerful attacks such as the "Hell's Flash" beam cannons. However, this sudden turning of tables created an overconfidence in Android 17, who lingered at the battle site, where the wounded but still-living Imperfect Cell surprised him and quickly absorbed him. Cell Games Saga Android 17 was killed along with Cell during either Semi-Perfect Cell's self destruction or Super Perfect Cell's actual death at the hands of Gohan, but was revived after the Z Warriors used the Dragon Balls to bring back the people killed by Cell. He also had the self-destruct device in his body removed by Krillin in another wish made true with the Dragon Balls. He never makes contact with the main cast again for the rest of Dragon Ball Z, content to live life on his own. It should be noted that though the group had initially given up on the idea that Android 17 could actually be alive when they failed to sense him or figure in any way that he was alive after making the wish, the most likely reason that nobody could detect him at all is the fact that an even semi-mechanical being (such as Dr. Gero's Androids and cyborgs, including Android 17) has no actual (or at least traceable) ki signature and thus cannot be sensed by even the most highly trained organic being. Future Timeline In a dark alternate future timeline of Dragon Ball Z, Android 17 and Android 18 have ravaged the planet Earth within an inch of its life, and much of human civilization is destroyed. Following their release, they killed Dr. Gero (as in the "fixed" timeline that Dragon Ball Z follows) and then proceeded to kill anything they encountered for "points", including all of the Z Fighters except Future Gohan. As the years pass, it becomes painfully obvious that Future Gohan and Future Trunks are the only martial artists left capable of fighting the twins. However, no conceiveable advantage arises for them and Future Gohan is eventually killed. In one timeline, Future Trunks shuts them down with a remote control, and is killed by Imperfect Cell, who travels to a similar past timeline to seek out the twins; and in another, he destroys them through pure power, then destroys Imperfect Cell as well. Kid Buu Saga Android 17 is later seen in the manga and the Dragon Ball Z episode where Goku gathers energy to defeat Kid Buu. He raises his rifle to trick two hunters passing by into raising their hands into the air (they think that he's trying to rob them) and giving energy to Goku's Spirit Bomb. He then smiles and says, "You beat me to it," raising one of his hands up with them to give energy to Goku. In the original manga however, he merely raises his hands and his hands alone. Considering the fact that he is alive at this time serves as a testament to his good soul: the wish that revived him was one that Vegeta had Kibito Kai and Elder Kai and Namekians make asking for the good people on Earth to be revived when it was restored (Kid Buu had previously obliterated the planet with his massive ki ball, the Chikyuu Hokai no Ichigeki). Dragon Ball GT In Dragon Ball GT, he is telepathically brainwashed by and eventually merges with a machine mutant version of himself, created by Dr. Gero and Dr. Myu in Hell. Before he merges, he decides to ask Android 18 to join him, but the incident only leads to the death of Android 18's now husband Krillin when he momentarily contradicts the machine mutant Android 17's voice getting in his head. Android 18 is horrified and attempts to fight Android 17, but he incapacitates her. He then finds his artificial self to become Super 17. The super Android then battles most of the Z Fighters, but defeats them all, including Uub and Vegeta, with relative ease, killing Dr. Gero once again in the process as Dr. Myu reveals he reprogrammed him to so that he could have full control. Before any good guys can be killed, Super 17 ends up fighting Goku, who would later be helped by Android 18. Her appearance helps the situation lead to the deaths of both Dr. Myu (who Android 18 turned Android 17 against by reminding him of his true nature) and Super 17 himself. As is revealed after the end of the fight, the real Android 17 had given them the chance they needed to finish him and his evil copy off by taking control of the Super 17 body from the machine mutant and trying to power up as Android 18 was shooting energy waves at him instead of sticking with the absorption technique. This revealed to Goku that Super 17 could not move if he were to absorb energy, thus leaving him vulnerable to physical attacks. From there, Goku was able to go right through the chest of Super 17 with the Super Dragon Fist, rendering him unable to absorb the ensuing onslaught of Kamehamehas, finally killing him. According to the second GT Perfect File, the wish that Goku gave himself for at the end of GT, which had brought back to life all the good people that died in the battles from the Super 17 saga on through to the Shadow Dragon Saga, revived both Krillin and the real Android 17. Category:Artificial humans Category:Characters who can fly Category:Villains